It’s been 50 years! That’s right. The first Porsche 911 went on sale in 1963. Now Porsche has debuted an all new Porsche 911 to celebrate those 50 years.
The Porsche 911 is the benchmark for sports cars. That’s why it has lasted this long. It hasn’t changed much over the years. The engine is still in the back and it’s still a flat six. The shape of the body is still generally the same as in ’63. Every new version of the Porsche 911 simply tweeks the old one. From the outside, you might not even notice it’s new.
But it is new. And in the world of Porsche, it is VERY new. The body is now made entirely from aluminium. The engine is still a 3.8L flat six, but it has been upgraded too. And it’s now mated to a 7 speed manual gearbox.
And there is, of course, the steering. Wait for it…it’s now electronic power steering. The Porsche 911 now has electronic power steering. Some Porsche purists might not agree with this but this is how the 911 became the benchmark in the first place.
When something needs to be changed, to improve the driving experience in some way, Porsche changes it. The engine is still a flat six because it works beautifully. The body shape is basically the same but with some refinements over the years. The newest refinements are an aluminium body and electronic steering.
If Porsche believes these new refinements will improve the driving experience, chances are they are correct. They’ve been doing this for 50 years, and if they keep it up, we’ll be talking about this again in another 50. Happy birthday Porsche 911.